BENTONVILLE -- A federal lawsuit filed in the death of a Benton County Jail inmate will not go to trial after the Quorum Court approved paying $652,000 of the $1 million settlement to resolve to case.
The justices of the peace approved the payment Thursday night. The settlement issue was the only thing on the agenda.
Faith Whitcomb, 52, died May 3, 2012, of pancreatic cancer that went untreated while she was in the Benton County Jail.
A lawsuit was filed in federal court in Fayetteville in August 2013 concerning her death and care in the jail.
The settlement resolves the lawsuit brought by Faith Whitcomb's family.
Whitcomb, 52, died May 3, 2012, of pancreatic cancer that went untreated while she was in the jail. The cancer spread to her liver, lungs and lymph system. She filed numerous medical complaints about stomach trouble during her eight months in jail.
Whitcomb was being held in jail awaiting space at Arkansas State Hospital in Little Rock.
A lawsuit was filed in federal court in Fayetteville in August 2013. Whitcomb's family claimed she didn't receive adequate medical care while in jail. The lawsuit claims medical personnel at the jail never took a proper medical history and never ordered tests to find out what was wrong with Whitcomb.
"This poor woman could not have been saved if her cancer was diagnosed," Rogers attorney Doug Norwood, who is one of the attorney's for Whitcomb's family. "The lawsuit was over whether they gave her sufficient pain medication while she was dying."
Norwood said he's confident there will not be any similar occurrences to Whitcomb in the jail and Sheriff Kelley Cradduck has made changes to address problems in the jail.
"The family is satisfied that justice was done in the case," Norwood said.
Jason Owens, the attorney representing the Benton County Sheriff's Office, explained details of the settlement to the justices during Thursday's meeting.
Owens said the low offer by the opposing attorneys to settle the case was $1 million. The county is responsible for paying $652,000 while the other $348,000 will come from insurance with the Arkansas Association of Counties, according to Owens.
Owens said the plaintiffs intended to claim a deliberate indifference concerning Whitcomb's care and whether the medical staff at the jail were deliberately indifference to Whitcomb. Owens said one of the issues is Whitcomb only received over the counter medication for her pain.
The suit also concerned Whitcomb, who was believed to be HIV positive, being held in segregation for her 10 months stay in the jail, Owens said. Whitcomb was mentally ill with diagnoses of paranoid schizophrenia and part of the claim is the pain issue and being held in segregation impacted the issues with her mental illness, Owens said.
The autopsy found Whitcomb didn't have HIV, Owens said.
Owens said the case had problems. "If it gets in front on a jury everyone knows someone who died of cancer especially the pain in the last days," Owens said.
Owens warned the Quorum Court the plaintiff would evoke emotions that could impact the outcome of the case.
According to Owens, the county would be responsible for the attorney fees for opposing counsel if the county lost the suit. Owens said the plaintiff's attorneys have told him they have accumulated more than $1 million in fees.
Owens recommended the Quorum Court approve the settlement. Owens said County Judge Bob Clinard, Cradduck and County Attorney George Spence also were in favor of the settlement.
"We all see that it could easily eclipsed that amount," Owens said.
The Quorum Court didn't have any questions for Owens before Tom Allen made a motion to approve the settlement. The justices of the peace voted 15-0 in favor of approving the $652,000 to pay toward the settlement.
Whitcomb died while former Sheriff Keith Ferguson was in office.
Owens also Quorum Court the county's liability is now limited since the jail contracts with a third party for medical care in the jail. He also pointed out a different administration is now over the Sheriff's Office.
The jail also no longer holds HIV inmates in isolation, Owens said.
Norwood also believes the situation in the jail has changed under Cradduck's leadership. Norwood said he used to constantly receive telephone calls concerning the medical treatment in the jail, but those calls have now diminished.
Clinard said on Wednesday he favored settling the case and Spence after the meeting settling the case is the right move.
A jury trial for the lawsuit has been set for May 4. Owens said he will now begin the settlement paperwork to resolve the case.
NW News on 02/06/2015